he served in italy and there lost an arm to a german grenade, leading a battle that won him the medal of honor. >> everything became a by the crazy. bullets flying all over the place and my arm flew off. i looked for the grenade because i knew it was in my hand. and there it was still clutched. and i peeled it off and i threw it at the enemy. >> reporter: inouye was elected to the u.s. house of representatives in 1959. the same year hawaii became a state. he won a seat in the senate three years later where he served eight and a half terms. >> he was a man who, as we all know, rarely called attention to himself. but who lived a remarkable american life filled with dignity and grace of the true hero that he was. >> reporter: he gained notoriety when he served on the senate committee looking into the watergate scandal. the probe ultimately led to president nixon's resignation. in a statement president obama said, "our country has lost a true american hero." >> inouye also served as chair of the congressional panel during the iran contra affair investigating allegations, top members of th